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JHS

Bahrain Gp At Risk?

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Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has expressed his concern that unrest in Bahrain could affect the first race of the season. Amid warnings on Tuesday from a campaign group in Bahrain that it will target the grand prix to publicise its cause, Ecclestone has admitted that the situation needs careful monitoring.

He has vowed to speak to Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman ibn Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa to get an update on the situation, but thinks it far too early to contemplate the possibility of calling the race off.

"The danger is obvious, isn't it?" Ecclestone told The Daily Telegraph. "If these people wanted to make a fuss and get worldwide recognition it would be bloody easy, wouldn't it?

"You start making a problem on the start grid in Bahrain and it would get worldwide coverage."

When asked if there was a possibility of the race being called off if the situation worsened, Ecclestone said: "I have no idea. It's hard to establish exactly what is going on.

"As I say, I'm speaking with the Crown Prince later on. We're watching events closely. We'll rely on what they think the right thing to do is."

There's always people who have to ruin it for others. I mean, it's great that they are protesting against their Government, but really, think of the people who's paid a bucket load of money on buying tickets for the race, or from the all the team's perspective. I hope that it doesn't have any impact on the race, but it is slightly worrying.

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OMG! Yes!!! Think of all those poor bored riches that paid bucket loads of money to watch a sporting event having it ruined by those b#####ds protesting because they want a new constitution and because a guy was shot dead by the police in their last demonstration! Always seeing the negative side of things!

Aren't those demonstrators insensitive?

BTW, you are being ironic there, aren't you? :unsure:

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OMG! Yes!!! Think of all those poor bored riches that paid bucket loads of money to watch a sporting event having it ruined by those b#####ds protesting because they want a new constitution and because a guy was shot dead by the police in their last demonstration!

fu##ing protestants, they should kill 'em all

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OMG! Yes!!! Think of all those poor bored riches that paid bucket loads of money to watch a sporting event having it ruined by those b#####ds protesting because they want a new constitution and because a guy was shot dead by the police in their last demonstration! Always seeing the negative side of things!

Aren't those demonstrators insensitive?

BTW, you are being ironic there, aren't you? :unsure:

No, I'm not being ironic.

They can protest all the want. I have no problems with that. Just don't disrupt a sporting event. I'm not talking about "poor bored riches", I'm talking about people who DON'T live in Bahrain. Who have bought expensive tickets and flights way in advance.

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If the prospect of protests actually worries anyone, and they are genuinely concerned that they will have to spend a little more time waiting for the race to start while some authority manhandles a bunch of protesters, then that is called a skewed sense of perspective. If anything does happen, then all of those people who can afford to pay the ridiculous prices, and us watching at home in comfort, can just be thankful that we are the people being mildly inconvenienced that our favourite sporting event is being disrupted, rather than in the position of the protesters.

JHS, protests of this nature are more effective when they gain international attention, because if the Government knows every other nation is looking at them it makes it a little more difficult for them to do whatever they want. It is unfortunate that often the only way to draw attention or make people give a Sh#t about anything is to disrupt their daily life somehow. That's why they would want to disrupt an international sporting event, where there is likely to be a lot of attention already. It is not the same as people always having to ruin it for others. They are not on a whim thinking "oh there's nothing to do today lets go and protest at that silly F1 race"! They are fighting for a better existence, basically.

In any case, as James Allen pointed out, any protest is unlikely to impact on the race because it is not near a city and so it should at least in theory be protected easily enough. Thank the heavens our (extremely important!) F1 race will probably happen without a hitch, and those oh so nasty foreigners won't be able to ruin it! I don't wanna see more rights for people I wanna see cars going in circles, dammit! :P

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No, I'm not being ironic.

They can protest all the want. I have no problems with that. Just don't disrupt a sporting event. I'm not talking about "poor bored riches", I'm talking about people who DON'T live in Bahrain. Who have bought expensive tickets and flights way in advance.

Ahhhh...people who don't live in Bahrain and bought expensive tickets and flights...having their sport event disrupted.

Please let me know if you ever take a political career. I'll waste no time in giving you my vote.

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Isn't that what travel insurance is for? i.e. non-event...so what if the race is cancelled. F1 has no moral standpoint whatsoever to say, we are so precious, leave us alone.

Sh#t....it could rain!! and then there would be no race...what about the poor souls that bought tickets then, and didn't buy an umbrella?

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Wow I'd be stoked if they did riot and protest in Bahrain. It's #1 of my worst and most boring list of GPs. I can't wait for this crapfest GP to be axed, then we can look at maybe Hungary and a few others.

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I dont mind if it gets canceled. Australia hosting the 1st race like it should be would be great.

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Hmm. Probably the first time this year that the word "asinine" has come to mind.

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I would be sad if the protesters disrupted a footbal match of shoeless children on the desert.

An International Sport Event I don't care.

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Am still hoping Bahrain falls off the calendar. Then we can set to getting rid of the Indian GP. Those who are in Australia will know full well how corrupt and dodgy the Indian Govt has been with contractors and other companies concerning last years Commonwealth Games. What is in store and ahead for F1 is going to be a freshly painted turd. The facilities will be substandard, even though brand new. And a whole myriad of issues will occur. Uncle Bernie won't mind too much I'd imagine, but the farce won't last for decades I'm sure of that.

Let's be clear, I don't want India to fail, I can from experience see however the issues that will arise from this. And the first thing we'll be hearing from some corrupt politician is class racism or something along those lines of absurdity.

F1 needs a shakeup. We need France back on the calendar, we need to get rid of Bahrain, Hungary, Valencia and some * on a few others. Bernie's chasing the money for the sake of chasing the money, leaves us with an inferior product. Watching the Turkish, Chinese and Bahrain GPs is torture. Empty stands, ugly arial views of the circuit make it appear like some sub class beginner format.

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I'd be most delighted if the Bahrain GP's cancelled on account of the protests. It's heartening to see that "them Muslims" are no different from "us" in wanting more freedom, democracy, just governance, prosperity, etc. More power to them.

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I always feel motivated to point out that we should all look at ourselves when these topics come up. It's easy to take a principled stance in a forum post, but we all spend our Sundays watching racing rather than helping people, so maybe we're not so different.

And it makes me wonder if that's why everyone takes such issue with these kinds of threads. Perhaps on some level we all feel guilty about our preferences, priorities, and selfish natures and so we feel the need to argue against it somehow.

Just my thoughts. Oh and I'm probably being stupid but is asinine a real word?

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I wont be bothered if we lose the Bahrain GP this year, it's normally a pretty dull race, or like last year, the worst race of the season. And lets face it, in the grand scheme of things F1 is the least important thing happening in Bahrain at the moment!

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Having been caught up in the red shirt protests in Thailand last year, I know only too well the sick fear you can feel in the pit of your stoumach when you are in an unpredictable situation with language barriers and fast changing events. There is no sense in risking the safety of team personnel unnecessarily, as a first priority. Secondly, any nastiness at the event could hurt F1 as a whole. Now that people have been killed and the mood amongst the people can only go one way, the Grand Prix should be cancelled now.

Having said that, I wouldn't expect trouble to filter through to the event; Although it would be a world wide soap box for protestors, they are not trying to tell the world, they are trying to tell the Royal family. From experience, if you have no axe to grind with the locals, they are unlikely to take it out on individuals with no relevance to their plight. Not only that, but the track is a long way from the centre of the troubles. Any groups travelling towards the event could be quickly apprehended.

My first paragraph was referring to the potential logisitcal problems of getting team personnel from their hotels, back and forth and to the airport.

Let events take their course.

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Just my thoughts. Oh and I'm probably being stupid but is asinine a real word?

–adjective 1. foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid: It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine statements.

And Lauda trying to feel good about himself by asking for cancellation on moral grounds... I don't remember him boycoting the South African GP at a time when SA native blacks were beeing killed... When it was in his interest, not much morals were involved.

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No, I'm not being ironic.

They can protest all the want. I have no problems with that. Just don't disrupt a sporting event. I'm not talking about "poor bored riches", I'm talking about people who DON'T live in Bahrain. Who have bought expensive tickets and flights way in advance.

Awww boohoo you bought an expensive ticket to a middle eastern dictatorship propped up by oil money trying to attract rich foreigners.

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It's simple really. FOM should not to do business with non-democratic states - period. From Bernie's point of view, It's just driven by personal greed. Despite their huge wealth and sophisticated infrastructures, all the Gulf states are no different to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. I don't believe he went to Eton or Harrow, though. Joking aside, Bahrain has 'lightened up' somewhat as far as the tolerance of other religious groups are concerned but it still refuses to recognise women's and gay rights. I believe the Shia majority in these countries have every right to feel aggrieved and I wish them all luck as they strive for freedom. HRT will be pleased, at least. So too, Mclaren perhaps.

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It's simple really. FOM should not to do business with non-democratic states - period.

Sounds a bit dictatorial. Let these countries have a Grand Prix. Denying them only hurts the people more. We all need to business with one another to let the benefits of democracy be seen and filter through.

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i hope they will kill all the protestants before race weeked.

in my time they would all be crucified along the race track as warning to others.

ahh, todays dictatorships... they have no style

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Sounds a bit dictatorial. Let these countries have a Grand Prix. Denying them only hurts the people more. We all need to business with one another to let the benefits of democracy be seen and filter through.

Unfortunately, Steve Bernie's criteria in this instance is not as philanthropical as your point of view. Also, how many rank and file Bahrainis ever make it to this event or more importantly, even care that it's on.

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i hope they will kill all the protestants before race weeked.

in my time they would all be crucified along the race track as warning to others.

ahh, todays dictatorships... they have no style

You need professional helpeusa_think.gif

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